USC coach Lane Kiffin may not have kept all the recruits they hoped to get, but their class still possesses plenty of quality. (AP Photo)

Q: Why did Ole Miss become the destination spot for so many elite recruits?

McLaughlin: I think it’s this simple: Robert Nkemdiche. He has received recruiting hype for nearly two years, all of the recruits have heard of him, and he has an engaging personality. Once he was done with Clemson, he started working on future teammates. I honestly think the Rebels became the flavor of the month, and if this were July or August—it would have ended differently because the hype would have died down. Just being honest there. But they caught fire in December and January, and that’s a great time to get hot. Here’s the problem: Alabama, Texas A&M, LSU and Auburn are in the SEC West and all had great recruiting classes, too, and in-state rival Mississippi State is no slouch. Ole Miss needs a couple more classes like this, or it might be remembered as a one-hit wonder. This is a brutal division.

Q: The day’s biggest loser has to be USC, right?

McLaughlin: There are several ways to look at this, but yes, USC’s coaching staff probably didn’t do a lot of celebrating Wednesday outside of Sporting News Top 125 LB Quinton Powell picking the Trojans. They lost a slew of elite talent down the stretch. Obviously the on-the-field struggles contributed to recruits second-guessing their commitments because most of their class was intact by last summer. But here’s the thing: though they only retained about a dozen recruits, the ones they kept are super special. USC fans can’t complain about the quality of the Trojans’ class.

Q: Usually Texas is all over recruiting headlines, but not this year. What’s going on there?

McLaughlin: I don’t think Texas’ class is bad. I just don’t think the Longhorns can hand-pick their class anymore and be done by the summer. Those days are long gone. They used to “choose” their recruiting class, and they are in an awfully talented state to have once been able to do that. But with Texas A&M moving to the SEC and winning games and Heismans, Baylor having a Heisman winner two years ago, TCU being the upstart it has been over the past few years, it’s not as easy to be the Longhorns anymore. They just have work to do, but this is still a powerhouse program.

Q: After all the mess at Penn State, Bill O’Brien put together a respectable class, didn’t he?

McLaughlin: Yes. Just like the job O’Brien did on the field in the fall, he and his staff did an amazing job with this class. Yes, they had to take some kids they wouldn’t normally take at Penn State, but they managed to keep the quartet of Christian Hackenburg, Adam Brenemen, Garrett Sickels and Brendon Mahon together—all SN 125 players. It says a lot about these kids, too. Now, the real challenge begins; can Penn State get the above types of players in future classes? That will be much, much more difficult and the Nittany Lions could find themselves battling MAC schools for recruits instead of Ohio State and Michigan.

Q: Who were your three favorite recruits from the 2013 class, factoring in talent and personality?

McLaughlin: When it comes to the top 10 kids in our rankings, Eli Apple and Eddie Vanderdoes had the kind of engaging personalities those of us in the media love to work with. They were professional, funny—you name it. Eli was actually a public relations master, and he has been on board with Ohio State for nearly a year now. He’s one of the Buckeyes’ outstanding defensive back recruits. Vanderdoes is just a well-versed kid who sees college football for the business that it is—he has stayed on top of it, too. Outside of the top 10, but still high up in the SN 125, lineman Kyle Bosch tells it like it is like another lineman named Kyle who signed with Michigan recently—Kyle Kalis last year. Bosch has great parents to deal with and I think he’ll flourish with the Wolverines.